the blue diamond book isa

7/31/2019 The Blue Diamond Book ISA

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j Dominoes one OXFORD

Sherlocl( Holmes- - ......- - -. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

w Text


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BEFORE READINGHere are some of the people in The Blue Diamond.What work do they do? Use a dictionary to help you.

Name: Mr PetersonWork: .

Name: Mr BakerWork: .

Name: James RyderWork:

Name: John HornerWork: . Name: Catherine CusackWork: .

Name: Mrs HudsonWork:. . .

2 Which of these people help to steal the diamond?

WJ ~ 1 Name: Mrs o a k s h ~ ~Work ",-Name: Mr BreckinridgeWork: .Name: Mr WindigateWork: .


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SherlockHolmesThe Blue DiamondCHAPTER 1 An old hat

My name's Dr Watson, and I'm a good friend of thefamous detective Sherlock Holmes. Two days afterChristmas last year I went to his house - 221B BakerStreet. I wanted to say 'Happy Christmas!' to him. When Iarrived, I found him in the sitting-room. He was by thewindow with some newspapers next to him. There wasan old hat on a chair near him, and he had a magnifyingglass in his hand.'You're working on something,' I said. 'Shall I go?''No,' said Holmes. 'Sit down and look at that interesting

old hat over there.'

Holmes lh:mmzJdiamond a veryexpensive stonethat usually has nocolourstWng-room theroom in a housewhere people sitand talknewspaper peopleread about thingsthat happen everyday in thismagnifying glasswhen you lookthrough this. smallthings are big


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crime killingsomeone, or takmgmoney fromsomeonedoorman a manworking at a hotel;he opens the frontdoor for visitorsbird an animalthat can fly; youcan eat somebirdsgoose (pluralgeese) a large,usually white bird;people sometimeseat it at Christmascook to make "things for peopleto eatshoulder this isbetween your armand your neckfall (past fell) togo down suddenlytry to want to dosomething but notto do it wellwalking stick along, thin piece ofwood; you use thisto help you to walk

I sat down. I t was cold out in the street, but it wasnice and warm in Holmes's sitting room,

'Why are you interested in that old hat? Is i tsomething to do with a crime?' I asked.Holmes laughed, 'Not a crime, no,' he said, 'I got itfrom Peterson, the doorman at the Baker Street Hotel.'He found it in the street and brought it here on

Christmas Day for me to look at. He also brought a deadbird with him - a good fat Christmas goose - at thesame time,'I gave the goose back to him this morning, He'scooking it at his house now and he's going to eat it for

dinner tonight.''First it was a hat, and now you're talking about a

goose!' I said, 'I don't understand.''Then let's begin when it all began,' said Holmes.'At about four o'clock in the morning of ChristmasDay, Peterson went home after work, When he got to

Tottenham Court Road he saw, in the street in front ofhim, a tall man with a goose over his shoulder,Peterson walked behind him for some time.'There were some young men in the street in front of

them, Suddenly one of them hit the tall man's hat offhis head and it fell into the road, Then the tall mantried to hit the young man with his walking stick,but by accident he broke the window of a shop behindhim.'At that moment Peterson ran to the man to help him,

but the tall man ran away, Perhaps he felt bad aboutbreaking the shop window, Perhaps he thought thatPeterson - in his doorman's coat and hat - was apoliceman.


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'When he ran, he left hisChristmas bird in the street next to hishat. The young men ran away at the sametime, so Peterson took the goose and the hat homewith him, and the next day he brought them here.'There was an interesting little ticket on the goose's left

leg,' said Holmes. 'It said "For Mr and Mrs Henry Baker".We can find the letters H.B. in the hat too.''Oh . . . the owner of the hat and the goose

is called Henry Baker,' I said.'Yes,' answered Holmes. 'But my dear Watson this

doesn't help us very much. There are hundreds ofHenry Bakers in London. I gave the goose back toPeterson this morning,' he went on, 'and I said to him:"Have this for your dinner!" I didn' t want it to go bad,you know.'

owner the personthat somethingbelongs to

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adYertlaementyou pay to put thisin a newspaperIntelligent quick-thinkingpoor not richnose this isbetween your eyesbrain this is inyour head and youthink with itbuy (past boull:htlto give money forsomething

'Did Mr Baker put an advertisement in the newspaperabout his hat and goose?' I asked.'No.' answered Holmes.'Then how can we find him?''Well. perhaps his hat can help us.' said Holmes. 'Here'smy magnifying glass, Watson. Now, you be a detective for

a minute or two. What can you tell me about the owner ofthis hat?'I took the magnifying glass and looked at the hat. It was

black but old, and very, very dirty. I saw the letters H.B. init. For me it was no different from any other old black hat.'I can see nothing.' I said, and I gave the hat back to myfriend.'Excuse me, Watson. You do see. but you don't think

about what you see.'~ right!' I said. 'What can you see in this hat?''The owner of this hat is an intelligent man.' saidHolmes. 'He was once rich and is now poor. His wife

loved him once but she doesn't love him now. And he'sthirty or forty years old.'Well, perhaps I'm slow. Holmes, but I don't

understand.' I said. 'Why is he an intelligent man, do youthink?'Holmes put the hat on his head. It came down to hisnose. 'This is a big hat. A man with a big hat has a bighead, and a man with a big head has a big brain. Amanwith a big brain thinks a lot.''But you say he was once rich and is now poor. Why?''The hat is three years old. I remember these hats werein all the shops then. They were very expensive too.'Three years ago this man bought a good hat, so he

was rich then. But he has no money to buy a new hat


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now. so these days he is poor.'~ I right,' 1 said. 'But you say he is in his thirties Or

forties. How does the hat tell you this?''Well. when 1 looked carefully at the hat with my

magnifying glass. 1could see some grey hairs in it. Peopleusually get grey hair in their thirties or forties.''1 see. But what about his wife? You say she doesn't love

him.''Because the hat is very dirty. When a woman

loves her husband. she cleans his hat for him.''Perhaps he hasn't got a wife.'

'Yes, he has. Remember the ticket on the goose's leg.'1\h yes.' 1said. 'You have an answer for everything.'At that moment the door opened and Peterson the hotel

doorman ran into the room. He looked very excited.'The goose, Mr Holmes. The goose!' he said.'What's the matter with the goose?' asked Holmes. 'Did it

come back from the dead and fly off through the kitchenwindow?''No, Mr Holmes. My wife found this in the bird!'

Peterson opened his hand. There was a beautiful bluediamond in it.

. . . . , the colourbetween white andblackI&ItdMn the roomin a house wherepeople cook

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READING CHECKAre these sentences true or false?a The story happens in December.b Holmes tells his friend Watson about a tall man with an old hat.c The tall man left a yellow bird in the street.d A hotel doorman - Peterson - gave the hat and the bird to Holmes.e Holmes gave the bird to Watson.f Peterson's wife found a green diamond in the bird.

True FalseIII 0o 0o 0o 0o 0o 0

eg

G \ S S . . .d L-L. . JL . . JL . . JL . . . J_C+++++,-,-.WORD WORK

1 Look at the pictures and complete the crossword.

2 Read the blue squares and writethe name of another blue jewel. s

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3 Find the words from Chapter 1 and write the sentences.

e He to catch it before it .*'Jr

a She's (,( : . w n ~ ~ it in the ~ ; ' f ..il';;r. now.S h ~ ~ . r . ; Q Q K i D 6 ..i:t..iD..t . ~ R . . k i . t r . ; h ~ . D f : N f ...

b ADVERTISEMENT - 00 you want to ~ L ' j a new

d The , ' ' ' ' ' ( , , ~ didn't happen in the

~ J ( I ~ r " , I L ' ~ , isn't the owner of theThe

c He's an

g The story of the blue is very interesting.

GUESS WHATWhat happens in the next chapter?Write Ho/mes, Wafson, Pet"rson or Nobody in each sentence.a calls the police.b knows about the owner of the diamond.c takes Peterson to the police.d keeps the diamond.e writes to the Countess.f puts an advertisement in the newspaper.

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countess the wifeof a rich, importantmand1sIIppear to goaway suddenlyjewel an expensivestonepay (past p.ld) togive money forsomething

CHAPTER 2 The Blue Diamond

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thousand pounds!' cried Peterson excitedly. Then,without saying more, he sat down in the chair between us.First he looked at Holmes and then he looked at me.'The diamond disappeared five days ago, I think,' I said.'Yes,' answered Holmes. 'They say a young man, John

Homer, took it. Here's a newspaper report about thecase.'Holmes gave an old newspaper to me and I read the

report.

ADIAMOND DISAPPEARS FROMTHE COSMOPOLITAN HOTEL

report somewriting in anewspaperrepair to makesomething that isbroken work againassistant....nager animportant job in ahotel

The Countess ofMorcar's bluediamonddisappeared fromher room at theCosmopolitan Hotelon the 22nd of thismonth. The policethink John Homer,26 years old, tookthe diamond from ajewel box when hewent to repair thewindow in the room.James Ryder, theassistant manager

of the hOle!, told thecourt: ' I tookHomer to theCountess's room butthen I went away fo rsome time. When I

came back, Homerwasn't there, and 1found the open box,without the jewel init, on the table nextto the bed.'Catherine Cusack,

the countess'smaid,spoke next: ' I heardMr Ryder call and 1ran to theCountess's room.There 1found Ryderwith the jewel boxin front of him.'The police found

Homer at his homelater that day, butthey couldn't findthe diamond.Later, Detective

Bradstreet spoke to

the court: 'When Isaid "You're adiamond tbiefl"Homer hit me.'Soon after that

Homer told thecourt angrily:'You've got thewrong man. I didn'ttake the Countess'sdiamond. I'm not athief.'Bradstreet then

told the court:'Homer went toprison once heforefor heing a thief. 1say he took thediamond.'The case goes tothe High Courtnext week.

court the policetake someone herewhen they thinkhe or she didsomething wrongCUAck I'kju:sreklm_hi a womanwho works in a richperson's house, orin a hotel

thief a person whotakes thingswithout askingpriaon a placewhere people muststay when they dosomething wrongcue when thepolice work to findanswersHI1lll Court themost importantcourt in the country

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'Well, that 's the newspaper report about the diamond,'said Holmes. 'Now we need to understand how the jewelleft the Countess of Morcar's room in the Cosmopolitanhotel and arrived in Tottenham Court Road in a goose.'You see, Watson, there is a crime in this case. Here's thediamond. The diamond came from the goose, and the

goose came from Mr Henry Baker - the man with the oldhat.'I know you felt a little bored when 1told you all aboutMr

Baker, but now we must find him. Where and how does hecome into the case of the blue diamond? The answer tothese two questions is most important.''But how can we find him?' 1asked.'Through a newspaper advertisement,' answered

Holmes.He took a pen and began to write.


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There. That says it all, Ithink,' said Holrnes.'Yes, but is he going to read

it?' I asked.'Yes, Watson, I think he is.

He's a poor man, remember. Atthe time he was afraid because of hisaccident with the shop window, but nowI believe he feels very sorry aboutrunning away and thinks: "Why did Ileave that bird in the street?"'Perhaps he looked for a newspaper

advertisement about it yesterday. I think he's going to lookagain today. too.'What's more, we've got his name in the advertisement. so

I believe his friends are going to see it and tell him about it.''Yes, I see: I said.Holmes gave some money to the doorman and said:

'Peterson, please go down to the newspaper offices and putthis advertisement in all the evening newspapers.''Very good, sir. And shall I leave the diamond with you.

sir?''Yes, Peterson. And, I say, Peterson, after you leave the

newspaper offices, can you buy 'a goose and bring it backhere? We need a new bird for Mr Henry Baker when hecomes. Your family is eating the old one for dinner today, sohe can't have that.'The doorman went out of the door and down the street.

believe to thinkthat something istruesir you say thiswhen you talk to arich or importantman

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Amoy 1'J'm:>JIalreadyhappening earlierthan you think~ e m b l e very badsafe a box thatpeople putexpensive thingsin so thieves can'tget theminnocent doingnothing wrong

CHAPTER 3 Mr Henry Baker

HOlmes took the blue diamond in his hand andlooked at it. 'What a beautiful thing!' he said. 'Lookat the wonderful colours in it - dark blues and coldwhites. All big jewels make people into thieves and killersin the end. This one comes from the south of China, nearthe Amoy river. It's only twenty years old, so it's a youngthing, but already many terrible crimes are happeningbecause of it.

'I'm going to put it in my safe now, and then let's write aletter to the Countess of Morcar and say we have herbeautiful blue diamond here with us.''But Holmes,' I said, 'I don't understand. Is that young

man Homer innocent after all?''I don't know.':And what about Henry Baker - the tall man with the hatand the goose? Is he the jewel thief perhaps?', 0, I don't think he is. I believe he's an innocent man. I

don't think he knew there was an expensive diamond inhis goose - a jewel worth more than 20,000. But let'swait and see. Perhaps Mr Baker's going to answer ouradvertisement this evening and then we can learnsomething more about him.':All right,' I said. 'I can come back after work this

evening. I'm very interested in the answer to this case.''Good,' replied Holmes. 'Dinner is at 7 o'clock.'I got to Baker Street at 6.30 that evening. There was

a tall man already at Sherlock Holmes's front door whenI came down the street. He wore a long winter coat andhad a Scottish hat on his head. When I arrived next tohim the door opened. Mrs Hudson, Holmes's


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housekeeper, said 'Good evening' to the two of us, andwe went in and upstairs to Holmes's room.

'Mr Henry Baker, 1 believe!' said Holmes to the manwhen he came in. 'Please sit down.'

Holmes looked at me and smiled.i\.h, Watson, good. You are here when we need you.'Then he looked back at his other visitor.'Is that your hat, Mr Baker?'Mr Baker looked at the hat on the chair.'Yes, sir. That's my hat. There's no question about it.'

housekeeper awoman who looksafter a richperson's house

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address thenumber and thestreet wheresomebody lives

He was a big man with a big head, an intelligent face,and grey hair. I remembered Holmes's words abouthim.He wore a dirty old black coat with no shirt under it,

but he spoke slowly, quietly and carefully. I looked athim and listened to him and I thought: 'Yes, this is anintelligent man. He was rich once but now he has nomoney and things aren't easy for him.''We found your hat and your goose some days ago,'

said Holmes, 'But we couldn't find you very easily, MrBaker. We didn't know your address. Why didn't youput an advertisement in the newspaper with youraddress in it? We waited and waited for anadvertisement from you, but saw n othing .'Mr Baker smiled 'I'm sorry. Advertisements are

expensive and I haven't got a lot of money these days. Ihad once, but not now,' he went on. :And, well, Ithought those young men in T ot te nh am C ou rt Roadhad my hat and my goose, and I didn't want to put anexpensive advertisement in the newspaper for nothing.''I understand.' said Holmes, 'Now, before we say

more, I must tell you something a bo ut y ou r goose. MrBaker. I'm sorry but . . . well . . . we ate it yesterday, youknow.''You ate it!' said our visitor, and he stood up excitedly.'Yes, well, we didn't want it to go bad, you see. But we

bought a nice new goose this morning for you. It's onthe table there by the door. Is that all right for you?''Oh, yes, yes!' said Mr Baker happily. He sat down

again.:And, let's see, I think we have your old goose's feet,

head and everything from inside it in the kitchen. Do


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you want those?'The man laughed.

'No. no: he said. 'ButI'd like to take that nicenew goose home withme. thank you verymuch.'

Sherlock Holmeslooked at me with alittle smile. 'Very well.'he said to Mr Baker.'There is your hat andthere is your bird.Please take them. Oh,and, before you go. canyou tell me something?Where did you getyour goose? 1know a lot about geese and that was a verygood bird, 1can tell you.'

'Well, sir.' said Baker. He stood up and took his hat andthe goose in his hands. '1 got that bird at The Alpha. a pubnear the British Museum. This year the owner of the pub.Mr Windigate. began a goose club. Every week we all putfive or six pence into a money box and at Christmas timewe all had the money for a goose.'

With that he said goodbye. and left.'Well: said my detective friend. 'That answers one

question. Mr Baker is not our diamond thief. Are youhungry, Watson?''No. not very.'

'Let's eat later then. We must go to The Alpha at once.We need to speak to Mr Windigate tonight.'

pub a buildingwhere people goto have a drinkmuseum abuilding wherepeople look at oldor interestingthings

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READING CHECKChoose the right words to finish the sentences.a Holmes thinks the diamond is .

1 wonderful and good. 02 beautiful but bad. [;if3 nice and cheap. 0

b Mr Baker didn't put an advertisement in the newspaper because.1 he wasn't interested in his hat and goose. 02 he thought that the police had his hat and goose. 03 an advertisement is expensive and he doesn't have much money. 0

c Mr Baker.1 wants his old hat and his old goose. 02 is happy with a new hat and his old goose. 03 is happy with his old hat and the new goose. 0

d After Mr Baker leaves, Holmes and Watson go to speak to .1 Jack Horner. 02 the young men in Tottenham Court Road. 03 Mr Windigate, the owner of the Alpha. 0

WORD WORKFind eight words from the story. Then complete the sentences on page 19.


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'Th' . b d . "Y It' ter r ib le 'IS IS a very a crime. es. s .b Holmes put the diamond in his .c Holmes's is 221 BBaker Streetd Mr Baker is .. . He didn't take the diamond.e Mr Baker was at the door when Watson arrived.f Mrs Hudson is Sherlock Holmes's .g The British. . has many old things in i th They want to have a drink in the ....

GUESS WHATWhat happens in the next chapter? Tick one picture.

. Mr Windigate can't help Holmes. o b Mr Windigate is the diamond thief. 0

c Mr Windigate'tells Holmesabout the geese. o d Mr Windigate knowsthe diamond thief. 0

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bnr a yellow orbrown drink

CHAPTER 4 To Mr Breckinridge's

H0Imes and I put on our coats and hats and wentout into the cold winter street. The sky was dark overour heads. We walked east. and in a quarter of an hour westood in front of The Alpha. Holmes opened the door andwe went in.

In the pub the owner, Mr Windigate, gave us some beer.'Is this beer good?' Holmes asked him. 'I ask because Iknow your geese are very good. Mr Henry Baker told us all

about your goose club.':Ah, yes. But those geese weren't our geese. They came

from a man with a little shop in Covent Garden.Breckinridge is his name.''Thank you, my good man.' said Holmes. We paid for our

beer and drank it. Then we walked out of the warm puband into the cold night again.'Now for Covent Garden.' said Holmes, and we walked


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down the street past the British Museum. 'Remember,Watson, it all began with a goose, but it finishes withseven years in prison for young Mr Homer. Perhaps wecan learn more about this interesting case in MrBreckinridge's shop:We walked south and soon came to Mr Breckinridge's

shop. Breckinridge and a boy were at the door. It wasnearly time to close for the night.'Good evening. It's a cold night,' said Holmes.'How can I help you?' asked Breckinridge.Holmes looked at the empty shop window. 'No geese, Isee,' he said.'There are some in that other shop - there behind you:l\h, but I came to you because I hear your geese are very

good. "Breckinridge's birds are the best," he said:

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sell (post sold)to take money forsomethingwinner theperson who getsthe right answer

'Who said that?''The owner of The Alpha.':Ah, yes. He had twenty-four of my geese two days before

Christmas.''They were very good birds too. Where did you getthem?''I'm not going to tell you!' said Breckinridge angrily.

:Again and again people come and talk to me about thosegeese and I don't like it. I paid good money for them, Itook them to The Alpha and then I forgot all about them.And then all the questions began. "Where are thegeese?" "How much do you want for them?" "Who didyou sell them to?" Why are people interested in them? Idon't know. They aren't the only geese in London, youknow.''I know,' said Holmes. 'But who asked you all those

questions before? Not me. I had nothing to do with that,you know. But now I need your help. We ate a goose atThe Alpha, and I say it was a country goose, but my goodfriend, Dr Watson here, says it was a London goose.Which of us is right? It's an important question. Fivepounds goes to the winner.''Well then, you lose and your friend is the winner,' saidBreckinridge. 'That goose came from London.''I can't believe that,' said Holmes.:A pound says I'm right.''Very well,' said Holmes, and he took out a pound. 'I'm

ready to pay. But I know you're going to lose yourmoney.'Breckinridge laughed. 'Bring me the books, Bill,' hesaid. The boy brought two books to him.Breckinridge opened the little one. 'This is my address


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book,' he said. 'When people sell their geese to me theiraddresses go in here - country people on the left andtown people on the right. The numbers after every nameare page numbers in my big book.''Read out the third name on the right,' said Breckinridge.'Mrs Oakshott. 117 Brixton Road. Number 249,' readHolmes.Then Breckinridge opened the big book. ?\lid this is my

"IN and OUT" book,' he said. 'Let's look at page 249. Herewe are. Mrs Oakshott. What can you see for Decembernnd?''Twenty-four geese from Mrs 0,' read Holmes. 'Alltwenty-four toMr Windigate at the Alpha.''There. What do you say now?' said Breckinridge.Holmes put his pound into Breckinridge's hand angrily.

pa.e this book hasforty-four pagesOakshott /';mkJotl

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READING CHECKPut these sentences in the correct order. Number them 1-7.a Mr Breckinridge is angry with Holmes. 0b Mr Breckinridge tells Holmes about Mrs Oakshott. 0c Holmes and Watson go to Covent Garden. 0d Holmes and Watson go to the Alpha. rne Holmes asks Mr Breckinridge about the geese. 0f Holmes gives Mr Breckinridge a pound. 0g Mr Windigate tells Holmes about Mr Breckinridge's shop. 0

e 'You're the w _

b 'Yes, of course I want to s this goose:

d 'look at p 24 in your books:

c 'Can I have a bottle of b please?'

a 'Can I p 0'j you now?'

Complete the sentences with words from the story.WORD WORK

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GUESS WHATWhat happens in the next chapter? Tick the pictures.

a Holmes feels.

o happy about the case. o tired.

b Holmes and Watson go to . . .

o Mrs Oakshott's. o 221 B Baker Street. o The Cosmopolitan Hotel.

c They speak to ..

o Mrs Oakshott. o the Countess's maid. 0 the hotel's assistant manager.

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weak not strongshout to sayloudly and angrily

CHAPTER 5 A weak little man

I n the streetHolmes stopped. Suddenly he wasn't angry;he began to laugh. 'You see, Watson.' he said.'Breckinridge didn't want to tell me Mrs Oakshott's nameand address at first. But later, when he saw he couldeasily get a pound from me, he told me everything. And hesaid something very interesting when he got angry.Did you hear? Other people are asking questions aboutthose geese.'Suddenly there was a lot of noise from Mr Breckinridge'sshop behind us. We looked back at it.Breckinridge stood, tall and angry, in front of his shop

door. Aweak little man stood in front of himin the street.

'Look, you,' Breckinridge shouted.'\ don't want to hear any moreabout those geese. Mrs

Oakshott can come andspeak to me when she

wants, but not you.You have nothingto do with it. Did\ get the geese

from you?'


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'No, but one was my goose, I tell you,' cried the littleman.'Then ask Mrs Oakshott for it.''But she told me ':Ask Mr Breckinridge for it.'' ''Well, that's nothing to do with me. I don't want to

hear any more from you. Do you understand? Now goaway!'Breckinridge closed his shop door angrily and the littleman ran off down the dark street.'Perhaps we don't need to visit Mrs Oakshott in Brixton

Road after all,' said Holmes to me qUietly. 'Let's talk tothat man. Perhaps he can help us.'Rolmes walked quickly up behind the little man and

put a hand on his shoulder. The man stopped and lookedback over his shoulder at us. His face was white.'Who are you? What do you want?' he asked weakly.

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job work 'Excuse me,' said Holmes. 'But I heard your questions tothat shop owner. I think I can help you.''Who are you? And how can you help me?''My name is Sherlock Holmes. And It's my job to know

things other people don't know.''But, you can't know anything about this!''Excuse me, I know everything. You want to find twenty-

four geese. Mrs Oakshott of Brixton Road sold them to MrBreckinridge here. He sold them to Mr Windigate, theowner of the Alpha, and Mr Windigate sold them to thepeople in his goose club.''Oh, sir. This is wonderful. I'm very happy to meet you,'said the little man excitedly. 'You are right.I am very interested in those geese. More thanI can say.''Why don't we go to a warm room in my

house for a talk then? I don't like standinghere in the cold street.'


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Holmes put out his armand a cab stopped for us.'But before we go, can you

please tell us your name?'The little man looked at Holmes

and then at me before he answered.'J-J-John Robinson,' he said.'No, no,' said Holmes quietly. 'We'd like

to know your real name please,'The stranger's face changed from white to red.'Very well. My real name is James Ryder,' he said.'Well, well, well,' said Holmes. ~ s s i s t a n t Manager of the

Cosmopolitan Hotel. Now let's get into the cab and gohome. Then I can tell you everything you want to know.'So we got into the cab and went home. Ryder looked excited

but said nothing. Holmes didn't speak at all in the cab.cab a taxireal not false

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Our visitor stood up weakly. Holmes opened his safe andtook out the blue diamond. In his hand it was cold andbeautiful. Ryder looked at the jewel but said nothing.

Holmes spoke for him. 'We know it was you, Ryder,' hesaid. 'Sit down and have a drink. You look very weak.'

I gave Ryder a drink. He sat down and drank it quicklyand looked at Holmes. 1saw he was afraid.

'You don't need to tell me much,' said Holmes, 'I knownearly everything about the case. But 1 have one or twoquestions to ask. How did you hear of the Countess ofMorcar's blue diamond?''Catherine Cusack, her maid, told me,' said Ryder.

'I see,' Holmes went on. 'So you and Cusack wanted toget the diamond and sell it for lots of money. You askedJohn Homer to come and repair the window in the roombecause you knew of his time in prison. When he left, youtook the diamond from the Countess's jewel box. Then youcalled the police. They came at once. Because of Homer'stime in prison they believed he was the thief. It was all veryeasy. Then .. .'

'Oh, please, please!' cried Ryder, now on the floor atHolmes's feet. 'Think of my father! Think of my mother! 1never did anything wrong before. I'm never going to do itagain. Please don't tell the police. 1 don't want to go toprison.'

'Sit down in your chair!' said Holmes coldly. 'You'recrying now, but did you feel sorry for young Homer? Heknew nothing of this crime. But the police believed he wasa diamond thief, and so he went to court and he is nowgoing to prison - all because of you.'

'I can leave the country, Mr Holmes. Then, when I don'tgo to court, Homer can leave prison.'

floor the place ina room where youstand and walkfeel sorry for tobe unhappy about

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truth when whatyou say is truearrest to take aperson to prisonpolice officerspolicemen andpolicewomendecide to thinkabout somethingand then do itcatch (pastcaught) to takequickly in yourhandsneck this ISbetween your headand your body

'We can see about that later!' said Holmes. 'But nowplease tell me, Mr Ryder. How did the diamond get from thehotel into a goose? A nd ho w did the goose get into a shop?And please tell the truth.'Ryder began:When the police arrested Horner, I left the hotel with thediamond in my pocket. I didn't want to stay at theCosmopolitan, not with the police everywhere, looking ateverything, so I went to my sister's house in South London.She lives in Brixton Road with her husband, Mr Oakshott.I saw lots of police officers on my way there and when Igot to Brixton Road I was very afraid.'What's the matter?' my sister asked.I told her about the diamond thief and about the police

arresting Horner. Then I went into the back garden tosmoke and think. What could I do with the diamond now?In the garden, I remembered my friend Maudsley. He beganwell, but he went bad, and in the end he went to prison forhis crimes 'Perhaps he knows about selling diamonds,' Ithought So I decided to visit him at his home in Kilburn inNorth London.'But how can I walk across London with the diamond?' Ithought 'I can't have it in my pocket Not with all those

police officers in the streets.' Then I looked down at thegeese in the garden and I thought of something.I knew one of those geese was for me, for my Christmas

dinner. So I decided to take my goose there and then, andnot to wait for i tI quickly caught a big white goose with a black tail.

Then I took the diamond from my pocket, and put it intothe bird's mouth. I felt the jewel go down its neck. With


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now inside thegoose I felt happy I couldwalk to Kilburn andback easily.

Then my sister came into the garden.'What are you doing with that goose?' she said.I put my bird down and it ran off with the other

geese. 'That's the goose I want for Christmas,' I said.'Very well. Catch it, kill it, and take it with you,'

she said./ Well, Mr Holmes I caught that bird, killed it andtook it with me to Kilburn. There I told my friend Maudsleyall about the diamond and he laughed and laughed. We gota knife and opened the goose but we couldn't find thediamond. I knew then something was wrong.

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I left the goose with Maudsley, ran to my sister's house,and went into the back garden. There were no geese there.'Where are they all, Maggie?' I said.'In Mr Breckinridge's shop, in Covent Garden.''Were there two birds with black tails?' I asked.'Yes, there were, James: she said. 'And to my eyes one

was no different from the other.'I understood it all then. The diamond was inside the other

goose with the black tail. And that goose was now in MrBreckinridge's shop. I ran to Covent Garden at once andwent to Breckinridge's. But the geese weren't in his shop,and when I asked about them he told me: 'I sold them all atonce.''But you must tell me. Where are they now?' I asked again

and again. But he never told me. You and Dr Watson heardhim earlier tonight, Mr Holmes He never answered myquestions.

'Now my sister thinks I'm a terrible brother. I'm a thief,I'm going to lose my good name, and I never got any moneyfrom my crime at all. Oh, what's going to happen to me?'

He put his head in his hands and began to cry.Holmes didn't speak for a long time. Then, in the end,he stood up and opened the door,'Get outl' he said.'Oh, thank you! Thank you, sir!' said Ryder.'Be quiet and get out!' said Holmes again, and, with

that, Ryder ran out of the door, downstairs, out into thestreet, and away.:After all, Watson,' said Holmes. 'It's not my job to dothe police's work for them and young Horner's going tobe all right. Ryder isn't going to go to court now.


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Without him, the police haveno witness to say Homer was the thief.'Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but I don'tbelieve it, I think I'm helping Ryder to be a better man.

Send him to prison now and you make him into a thieffor life. But now he's afraid, he's not going to gowrong again. We found the solution to the crime andthat makes me happy. And it's Christmas, after all,and Christmas is a time to be nice to other people, Ibelieve.'And now, Watson, let's ask Mrs Hudson to bring in

our dinner.'

witness a personwho saw a crimesolution theanswer to aproblem

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Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond'He's an intell igent man. He ';as once rich and is now poor; Hiswife loved him once, but she doesn't love him now. And he'sthirty or forty years old.'One look at an old hat, and Sherlock Holmes can tell you a lotabout its owner. He sees - and thinks - a lot more than thepeople around him, and when a beautiful blue diamonddisappears, Sherlock is the only man in London who can find it.

Text adaptation by Bill BowlerIllustrated by Susan SecttCa tte avaIlable

a Dominoes one

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DOMINOES provide reading and learning atfour language levels. As well as enjOyable!stories, each book provides a range ofintegrated activities designed to developreading skills, consolidate vocabulary, anaoffer personalized project work.

a DoInI.... starter250 HEADWORDSD. . . . . . . . one400 HEADWORDS.""'11. two700 HEADWORDSD it . lIthree1000 HEADWORDS

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